Originally Posted by
mckvakk
I see OPs trip has already passed. But this thread could be relevant to others, so i'll expand it;
If you manage to catch the local trains (R10 - Drammen, R11 - Skien or L12 - Kongsberg), you can save almost half the ticket price, 101 NOK instead of 190. They run at :03 :13 and :43 most of the day at the time of writing, and take a whooping 4 minutes longer than the express train. The ticket for these trains is also valid for travel within the greater Oslo area for.. i believe 2 hours after activation, which means they can be used for buses and metro in town too.
I just looked at my ticket from last month. It’s 2.5 hours. (I bought from the NSB ticket machine next to the escalators that go down to the train platforms. For whatever reason, these tickets don’t require validation; instead, they have the issuance time & validity period printed on them.)
I you want to go sightseeing instead you could easily see both the opera house and castle within a short time. Start with the Opera, which is right beside Oslo Central train station, head left when you get off the escalator from the tracks. spend 30 minutes here. then either walk, which i recommend if time and weather allows it, this takes 20 minutes of straight walking. Or by taking the metro two stops to Nationaltheateret. From here it's a 2 minute walk up to the castle. This could all be completed within 2 hours time.
Or instead of the castle, take a tram to the City Hall (worth seeing inside & out; no cost and no stupid security theatre) and walk to the harbor. On the street leading there from Nationaltheateret, there’s a decent brewpub (Amundsen Bryggeri) with a large street terrace for anyone who’d rather eat/drink outdoors during this mad dash.
